In Vow of Silence
by Carolare Scarletus
Summary: In lieu of a recent argument, Albus Potter takes a Vow of Silence when Scorpius Malfoy steps over the line and says something he shouldn't have. Little does he know, nefarious powers are at work and time was of the essence to save him and Albus.


**House:** Slytherin

 **Category:** Short

 **Prompts** : "Sometimes my greatest accomplishment is keeping my mouth shut." [Speech]

 **Word count: 1418** (Excluding Author's Note, but including entire Entry and Title)

 **Warning:** This is an AU (Alternate Universe) piece. Very mild language as well.

 **Characters:** Albus Potter; Scorpius Malfoy; Rose Weasley

 **Summary:** In lieu of a recent argument, Albus Potter takes a Vow of Silence when Scorpius Malfoy steps over the line and says something he shouldn't have. Little does he know, nefarious powers are at work and time was of the essence to save him and Albus.

 **Author's Note:** Originally, I wanted Scorpius to be the one to take the Vow of SIlence. But, having him screw up in the romance department was too good of a plot not to take up. And, I had a pretty good scene planned out between the two of them where they sorted out their differences and came to a long-awaited agreement. You know, usual High School romance stuff. However, that was tossed aside after I thought about what the Vow and what it entailed. I've kept the original conversation between Albus and Scorpius, and in doing so, I enriched the scene between Scorpius and Rose with a bit more history of the Vow of Silence, where it originated, and what it meant for Scorpius and Albus once the Vow took hold of them both. Needless to say, after round 4 closes and results are out, y'all will have possibly 1-2 chapters waiting for you. :)

 _As always, enjoy_

-Carolare Scarletus

* * *

 _.~._

 _ **In Vow of Silence**_

 _.~._

* * *

The train rocked uncomfortably, and as the snack trolley made its journey down the aisle and students gathered around it, Scorpius Malfoy slipped by like a transient soul on his way to Hell. A fire burned in his heart, one of absolute regret and disgust thinking about the last couple of weeks. For him, silence was nothing but a burden. He'd finally had an epiphany with the damnable virtue that had taken over his life just days ago. In the weeks preceding his current affair, he'd visited Albus Potter at his family home. During his stay, he'd learned something about Albus that prematurely ended his visit, causing a series of events from the last month to crash down. He went straight home, ignored the inquiries of his parents, and sulked for the remainder of the holiday. In the silence, Scorpius spent the entire last three weeks going over the conversation that led to his present predicament. Now, as he strutted down the aisle of the Hogwarts Express with the weight of the world on his shoulders, finally free from the savage hold of his room and the stares of his parents, he finally saw the error of his ways and desperately wanted to amend whatever frightful rift was keeping them apart.

Except, he couldn't.

Albus, in his anger, had inadvertently taken the Vow of Silence. It prohibited him from speaking to him, much less _mention_ the dark-haired wizard. He couldn't even get _close_ to him. There wasn't much history to go on with the ancient spell, but rumors had it that Salazar Slytherin coined the idea while being interrogated about the Chamber of Secrets, which everyone knew by now was a load of rubbage. Though, what did he know? History always had a funny way of proving people wrong.

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Rose asked. It was the first day back from their holiday and he was in the middle of finding a compartment when she came up to him and suggested that he go and apologize. They hurried down the narrow aisle, pushing passed people before finally coming to a stop. Scorpius slide one of the doors open, allowing Rose passage into the compartment before closing the door and locking it.

"I can't," he told her, slumping back against the compartment door. He ran a hand through his platinum locks and sighed. Everything he'd told her up to then had been the opposite of what he felt or wanted to say. He was very much like a paper doll, walking around among the living, just existing. It was as if he'd been programmed to tell her that, knowing that, on the inside, he was just _burning_ to scream. Scorpius looked out the window in front of him and watched the world pass in a blur of colors and shaped. "Besides, he wouldn't want to talk to me, anyway. He's taken a Vow of SIlence."

Scorpius hadn't a clue why the Gryffindor would want to take such a drastic vow, but he stood by his decision. Keeping quiet was sometimes the best thing he could do, even if he ended up hurting the person he loved the most. As they walked, he caught sight of him inside a compartment. The sight of their friends cheering him on crushed him; Scorpius could only turn away, feeling the weight of Albus' eyes as he pressed on, knowing that he'd been waiting for him to appear.

"The Vow of Silence," she asked suddenly, perking up to the idea.

"You've heard about it?" he asked, looking at her.

"Anyone who's taken and _paid attention_ to Professor Binns' - lecture would know what it is," Rose remarked with a sly hint in her voice. "I've read about it…"

"Of _course_ you have." Scorpius pushed himself off the door, walked over to one of the plush sofas, and sat down.

"As I was saying," she gave him a look before continuing," there's a small loophole. The Vow of Silence was first introduced thousands of years ago by a magical sect of the Buddhist faith. Originally, it was meant to prove one's devotion to their God. Now, it's branched off and taken darker tones. Only the one who took it can break it. But, you need special permission from them to do it."

"Wonderful," Scorpius mumbled. "While I'm at it, I might as well just accept the fact I'll never get the chance to speak to him again."

"You sound like you've lost hope," Rose told him. "From what I found in the Restricted Section, the Vow can easily be amended. It just takes the practitioner to find enlightenment."

"How long does that take?"

"A couple days to a few years…"

Dumbstruck, Scorpius looked at her as if she told him that the Headmaster had sprouted wings. "Years? I haven't got _years_ , Rosie."

The red-haired witch frowned sympathetically. "It's all I could find. If you had told me what caused Albus to take the Vow in the first place, then perhaps I could've-"

"It isn't important." Scorpius silenced her with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Sometimes my greatest accomplishment is keeping my mouth shut, but I don't suppose that's the case now, isn't it?"

"What did you even say to him?"

Scorpius turned away, hurt. He hadn't the courage to tell her that Albus had overheard Nott and Goyle speak ill of him. He'd finished practicing with them and, unbeknownst to him, Albus had come down to the field and during an exchange between his two beaters, he'd overheard something he shouldn't have. Something he wished he could take back because, in his heart, he knew that he had feelings for the half-blood wizard. He'd only wanted them to leave him alone, but, in his rash decision to protect himself, he didn't think to protect the one that mattered most to him.

"He overheard me tell Nott and Goyle that I didn't care much about his family and that I refuted any rumors that might be going around about us."

"What did they say?"

"They said he was nothing but a pansy, some lonesome little girl who became infatuated with me and stolen a few personal items of mine." Scorpius spat, his eyes growing dark. "Albus walked into the changing room at the wrong time and he heard me say something he presumed was about him but in actuality, it had been about Nott and Goyle."

"Oh, Scor, tell me you didn't," she begged. "Do you know how much Albus _admires_ you? I mean… one may go as far as saying he _likes_ you. There was something about the Vow that you might want to know and the longer he's silent, the more powerful the Vow becomes and more unlikely it can be broken. And, seeing as you're involved somehow… Scorpius, there isn't an easy way of saying this, but your in danger. The Vow gains strength through the anger of the caster and Albus simply won't forgive you for this. This time, love is involved."

Scorpius doubled over. He hadn't thought that Albus could have any significant feelings toward him. He, too, had taken it upon himself to research the blasted Vow and what he found was nothing short of eerie. The Vow was unmistakably dark in its nature; how Albus stumbled upon the ancient curse was beyond him, and the longer he sat there, the more urgent the situation became.

"How long do we have, Rose?"

The witch nervously bit her lip. "Three months," she told him softly. "If he took it on a Full Moon, he automatically loses three weeks since this Ancient Magic draws its power from the moon as well. And, in that time you're expected to hit five key points in enlightenment before the time is up."

He thought quickly, coming to find that Albus had taken the Vow on a Full Moon two weeks ago, giving them only eight weeks to work with.

And, while she talked, he could already feel the pressure in his ears build. Time was of the essence, and if they didn't act soon, Albus wouldn't be the only one without a voice. As things stood now, Scorpius would be without a voice due to his dark desire. He'd need to find a way to bridge this gap before it was too late for them both.

Sometimes, Scorpius' greatest accomplishment was keeping his mouth shut, but, it seemed now that his words were destined to curse him.


End file.
